Mukki's Story
by Seffie Elaine
Summary: Growing up in a city slowly choking off the sky from view isn't easy, but Mukki finds a way to do it with a smile. Along the way he makes the lives of those stuck in the dredge of Wall Market a little bit better the only way he knows how. Mukki's History.


Transparent hose topped with fine lace pulled its way up a slender leg while an infant cried out relentlessly to the cold, cruel world.

"Hush, little one." A voice cooed, as gentle as a mother's touch. Her soft hand reached out, brushing across the child's face, and she didn't seem even a bit surprised when his tantrum immediately quieted.

"It'll be all right, Mukki. Your future will be bright." She smiled as she set a finger upon his nose and his face quickly mimicked hers in return. "You just have to let Mommy finish getting dressed, so she doesn't make a liar out of herself." When she left his side, he stayed quiet as if he knew it really were for the best, and she returned to polishing off her already fine looks.

"Someday, Mukki." Her voice was like song as she readied it for the long night ahead. "We'll move up in this city. No more late nights under the stars, we'll earn the right to sleep during those dark hours, just like everyone else."

All made up, she reviewed her figure in the mirror before her. Still slender, even after pregnancy. It had been a pleasant relief the night after Mukki was born when her old uniform still fit after a tug or two. Reviewing the eye-catching yellow and black sleeves she pulled at the silky skirt, making doubly certain everything was on center.

"Off to the Honey Bee, Sweet Mukki. I'll be back before dawn." She gave her son a reassuring wink, still slightly worrying, even though she knew her neighbor would be over to check him every few hours.

* * *

The world Mukki grew up was one that never slept. Ever since the discovery of Mako energy projects had been on the move as never before. The future was boundless and so why should the city sleep? Strange looking men from all over the world moved into the earth-bound city, determined to show off their newly harnessed power by building a god-defying monument, harnessing the sky as their own. A monument to the ingenuity of humanity, Project Midgar was supposed to tower above the land, but as the locals watched their sky slowly disappear day by day young children ran through the streets, silent victims of their parents ambitions.

"Momma!" Mukki hollered through the small apartment, a bright and cheerful face among the usual slow moving dredge, mirroring the hope he saw in the faces of the adults around him. "I found one of your old outfits." He might have been about seven years old, but his mind was focused and well ahead of his peers.

"It has a hole in it, Darling." Mukki's mother entered the room, fixing a delicate earring into its proper position. Her face seemed to hold a permanent smile from which the small child drew most of his strength.

"I know. . ." He peered into the mirror as he held it up to his body, as if he were studying every inch of the garment. "Do you mind if I fix it?"

They'd worked on sewing projects plenty of times over the years, but this was the first time Mukki had ever wanted to attempt such an ambitious project on his own. Her smile shown with pride as she cupped her hand around the boy's cheek. "You can do whatever you want with it. . ." She paused slightly, gaining the edge of a sly grin upon her lips. "As long as you show me right when you're finished. Deal?"

The boy nodded vigorously, pulling his tiny sewing kit out from the dresser drawer beside him. "Deal, Momma!"

He worked all night on his project and all the next day as his mother slept he took to the streets to ask for unused scraps from the hundreds of projects going on around town. Tireless hours went into his own construction project and the next night he slept, too anxious for his mother to return home.

Waking, just before morning, he finished his final preparations barely in time for his mother to come through the door.

"Oh, Honey." Her hand slowly rose to her mouth, wide and gaping with awe. She had been worried, barely having seen her son in the previous days, but her pride was so overwhelming there was no longer room for any other emotions. Before her stood Mukki, dressed in a modified version of her previous outfit. It was cut perfectly to fit, he even wore what was obviously a stuffed bra and makeup to finish the illusion. The fishing touch was obvious as he turned around and gave a shy waddle, showing off an adorable bubble and stinger combination as a homage to the girls' given nickname. They were the Honey Bees and the inn was their hive as locals had long ago decided.

"It's adorable!" She cooed, pulling him closely and giving him several kisses on the forehead.

"Momma! Do you think the Don would like these? I think they'd look nice on you and the other girls!" And she couldn't deny, her son certainly seemed to have an eye for fashion. His grin overwhelmed his face as he puffed out his chest and proclaimed, "Someday, I'm going to be a Honey Bee, just like you."

A tear came to her eye as she pulled Mukki close. Her son didn't know what he was saying, but the look of honest hope for the future wasn't something she could bring herself to squash. Her business only catered to men, it didn't allow them any sort of possibility for a career, but how could she tell her son that, after all the thought and work he'd put into this?

"You'd make the cutest Honey Bee ever." Mukki didn't know why his mom was sobbing, wondering for a moment if he'd done something wrong, but all his fears were assuaged as her smiling face was visible once more. "It won't be an easy path. . . but if you really want that, in the future. . . Anything is possible for you, Mukki."

She brought the outfit to the Don the next day, and weeks later every single last one of them had a new uniform. She'd given away all possible royalties on the condition that every last person knew it was Mukki who designed them.

* * *

A/N: So there's the beginning of how I believe Mukki became the man we all know and. . . well, love might be a strong word, but at least he's interesting!

Next time find out how Mukki overcomes discrimination to become a member of the Inn and makes a safe haven for those boys who might otherwise lead lives of crime on the streets.

Please review, and let me know if you want to read more!


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